


Bloom (@rfweeks Day 5)

by Catrillion



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22863418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catrillion/pseuds/Catrillion
Summary: For the @rfweeks event, day 5: Bloom!Spoilers: this takes place after arc 2 but before arc 3.Frey deals with her grief over losing a close friend and Vishnal does his best to help her through it with some words of wisdom.
Relationships: Frey/Vishnal (Rune Factory)
Kudos: 12





	Bloom (@rfweeks Day 5)

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in the same continuity as my longfic Eternal Rivals (which I promise I haven't abandoned!!), but this is a prequel and also has nothing to do with it so you don't gotta read anything else first~

This winter had been a hard one- hard on the crops and, even worse, hard on Frey. The year had been rough all the way through, passing by in a cold, empty blur. It was as though losing Venti had drained all of the color from her life for the entire length of the year, and with the ever-plummeting temperature it had become even more grey.

Frey had been tending to the fields and caring for her crop of Emery flowers when that now all-too-familiar feeling of hollowness flooded over her. It came so suddenly that her knees quaked and she let herself sink down to the chilled soul onto her hands and knees.

She released a shuddering breath, heavy but unsteady, and let the years once again pour down her cheeks. What was she still doing this for? Why was she still trying to raise these flowers, even in this harsh weather? Even when Venti was long gone and would never return? There was no point continuing now.

“Princess, oh no! Are you okay?”

Her head snapped up and her eyes locked with Vishnal’s, who she'd failed to hear approach having been so inwardly focused on her own despair. Vishnal bristled the moment their eyes met and his hands flew up over his mouth. “Did you get hurt?! I'll get you a bandage and some ice and I can-“

“No, Vishnal, I'm sorry,” she said, smashing the base of her palm across her eyes in a useless attempt to wipe away and hide her tears. “I'm fine.”

He exhaled and paused, the understanding sinking in. “Oh.” His eyes were telling her he had more to say, but he held it in. Instead he took a few small steps toward her, leaned down, and extended his hand to help her up.

She looked up at him blinking and took his hand in his, but something in her kept her glued to the ground. She turned away from him lest the tears return.

Vishnal hesitated, their hands still lightly clasped, and after a moment sat knelt down beside her. “Is there anything I can do, Princess?” His voice was not that of someone who really had an expectation that there was.

She didn’t answer for a long time. “I just...” She shook her head and took one of her long ponytails in her hands- it was speckled with a lot more snow than she’d expected, and it was at that point she realized she’d been on the ground for near to half an hour. The fog in her mind had kept her from feeling the frost creeping up her arms and legs. She shivered once, hard, and Vishnal again gestured that he would take her inside. She ignored him. “It feels so... pointless.”

“Farming?”

“Everything,” she breathed. “Without Venti... It all feels like it was for nothing. How are we supposed to just... keep going? It feels like everything is standing still.”

Vishnal considered for a long time. “When did you plant these flowers?”

She furled her brow. “What?”

“These Emory flowers. When did you plant them?”

Why he was asking about flowers, now, of all the times to ask... “It was this last Spring.”

He nodded. “Emory flowers take a long time to grow, don’t they?”

Oh. That was why. She forced a smile. “Heh, you’re going to try to make a metaphor?”

“Well! Y-yes!” He was blushing hard. “I’m sorry, you’re right! That’s silly!”

She laughed, half sincerely, and said, “No, it’s fine. I’d like to see where this goes.”

He paused again. After a moment to collect himself he continued, “It’s just that... All year you were taking care of these flowers and it was long and tiring, and it didn’t look like it made any difference. They’re still buds even almost an entire year later. And it hasn’t gotten any easier, has it?”

No, it hadn’t. The cooling weather had made it more of an ordeal ever since fall reared its head.

He didn’t wait for her to answer. “Maybe sometimes it felt like they were never going to bloom. But over time, they have been growing, right? Princess, it can feel like things are standing still when things get difficult, but even now we’re growing too.” He paused and nervously added, “L-like the flowers, I mean.”

“Don’t worry, I got that.” She was trying to make herself giggle, but it came out so obviously fake. She made sure to avert her eyes to hide the tears welling up inside. She knew he wouldn't judge her for it, but she didn't want to admit his words were striking a cord.

“Anyway...” He rubbed his neck. “My point is, we’ve all been missing Lady Ventuswill. Without her here, the castle feels so alone and quiet. And it does sometimes feel that it will always be this way.” He leaned forward and ran his hand along a leaf of a nearby bud. “And maybe we do need some more time, which is okay. You’ve been helping take care of these flowers, and we can all take care of each other. You, me, Clorica, and Mr. Volkanon- we can get through the dark part together. As long as it takes.”

She found herself smiling- really smiling. “Thank you, Vishnal.”

“Was it an okay metaphor?”

She squeezed his hand. “Nope,” she laughed, eliciting a disappointed moan from him. With her free palm she wiped her tears away. “I’m kidding. Come on, I’ve been sitting here long enough.”

“Are you ready to come inside?”

“I’m ready to move forward. Or at least to try. As long as you’ll be there to help me.”

Vishnal smiled, a twinge of pink painting his cheeks. “Of course, Princess. Always.”

The two stood, and they were both aware that their hands were still entwined. Vishnal’s pink cheeks exploded into deep scarlet as the realization struck him. Frey looked down at the fist they were making together and felt a gentle smile actually creep across her face. It was going to still be hard for some time, but with Vishnal here, with his support, she knew the cold wasn’t going to last forever. She could see now that there was something more than the grey ahead of her, and even if it took another year to get there, it was coming. And no matter how long it took, she knew that together they would be able to make it through to when she too was ready to finally bloom.


End file.
